American Beech

American Beech

Fagus grandifolia

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

▲ ▼ mature trees

▲ fruit

▲ ▼ smooth gray bark (unless carved, below)

▲ did not have extreme damage after 2007 ice storm in Springfield, MO

Location on campus: two mature trees on south side of Cheek Hall

Fagus grandifolia: American Beech

• leaves alternate, simple, deciduous, ovate with entire to slightly toothed margins and pointed tip; 2-5" long and 1/3-1/2 as wide; glossy dark green above and glabrous below; veins extend to leaf margin serrations; leaves often golden yellow in fall
• stems slender, zig-zag, smooth, gray; buds long and pointed
• bark smooth gray even on large trees
• grows 50-70' tall in an upright oval form
• fruit is a small spiny capsule with 2-3 three-sided nuts inside
• prefers partial shade and deep, moist, well-drained, high organic matter acid soil; needs adequate moisture for establishment, but will not tolerate wet soils
• slow to medium growth rate
• native to Missouri